LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday
in choppy trade, with the poor economic backdrop still weighing
on companies' performance while investors await news on a deal
to unlock aid for debt-stricken Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers at a
closed-door meeting on Wednesday that lower interest rates and
an expanded European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) could fill
Greece's financing gap, a source at the session told Reuters.

Separately, the spokesman for the Greek government said the
country's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will hold talks with
Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Thursday.

The FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.1 percent at
1,093.60 by 1017 GMT in thin trading volumes that were just 20
percent of the 90-day daily average. Volumes were expected to
remain subdued ahead of a U.S. public holiday on Thursday for
Thanksgiving.

"Until such time as we get a little bit of clarity on when
this Greek aid is released... I think markets, especially since
we're heading into Thanksgiving tomorrow, will trade fairly
quietly," Michael Hewson, senior markets analyst at CMC Markets,
said.

Corporate earnings newsflow on Wednesday highlighted the
problems facing the euro zone, with data released last week
showing the region is already back in recession.

Johnson Matthey, topped the list of FTSEurofirst
300 fallers, off 6.4 percent in brisk trade, after the British
specialty chemicals firm issued a cautious outlook, dented by
weakness in Europe and a volatile U.S. truck market.

Randstad also suffered sharp losses, off 3.5
percent, after the Dutch staffing company warned of a continued
drop in sales, especially in Europe, and changed its dividend
policy, prompting analysts to expect a dividend cut.

The news had a negative knock-on effect on its peers, with
Adecco and Michael Page off 1.6 percent and
0.9 percent respectively.

British Land, meanwhile, saw good gains, ahead 2.2
percent, with traders citing an upgrade to "overweight" from
"equal weight" by Morgan Stanley, the day after the real estate
investment trust's first-half results, as the driver of the
outperformance.

The upgrade for British Land also helped peer Land
Securities to rise 1.4 percent.

The euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 shed 0.2
percent to 2,504.84, with charts pointing to further lacklustre
trade for the index, which has been stuck in a near 200-point
range since early September.

"I think we're going to be stuck in this range for the time
being. I don't expect anything too exciting on the upside,"
Lynnden Branigan, technical analyst at Barclays Capital, said.

Branigan's initial target, in the case of a close above the
50-day moving average at 2,511, is the Nov 7 high at 2,560.